Tag Archives: Shelfari

… on Social MediaAre you promoting your book like crazy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook … but nothing seems to happen, no book sales? Are you competing with other writers in “buy my book, buy my book, buy my book… Are you choosing to follow other writers, hoping they will buy your book?

.1. Choose your following very carefully: You want to interact mainly with READERS, NOT writers. The question is: How to find readers?

All Social Media sites have a search function on top of the page. Type in: book bloggers, read, reading, book lovers, book club, love reading, book worm, love to read, mystery book reader, science fiction reader, YA readers, YA book blogger, readers, word nerd, non-fiction book blogger, reading books, reviewing book… and even librarian. Click on “people” or scroll down a lot, as the first names that appear are often publishers and other commercial accounts.

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Another method is to type in the name of a very successful book in your genre and find readers there, talking about this book. Follow those readers that you feel belong to your book genre, based on what they say in their tweets. Re-tweet their posts, engage in meaningful conversation, be funny or refer to blog posts you wrote, but don’t mention your book. They will find out about it soon enough.

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2. Understand the meaning of Social Media – being SOCIAL and STOP talking constantly about your book!
I noticed one writer on Twitter who writes 100% only and only about his book. He seems to use automatic tweets, as he never, ever engaged in any conversation with others. Kind of autistic .. For sure, I was not the only one who un-followed him. Write about interesting things that are happening, give valuable advice or engage in a humerus way with your readers. No one goes on Twitter, FB, Google+ or Pinterest to read constantly about your book. That’s not entertaining or interesting. Many writers don’t buy books from other writers, they want to sell their own. If ALL writers are doing on Twitter, Google+ or FB is self-promoting they are not only NOT attracting readers, but turning them away.

Yes, famous writers may attract attention for what they have to say – not normally related to their books – but rather to their writer’s life or ideas – and they are often interesting or funny. It’s called social networks not selling pages…
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Authors should rather focus their promotional efforts on trying to get people to talk about their books (review them, read and recommend them, give them awards, take them to their book groups, write articles or blog posts about them) instead of trying to get people to buy them. A much better place to do this is on reader forums, such as Goodreads, Shelfari, Bibliophil, Biblio Connection, BookTalk and the like.

So, following these two basic rules:Finding the right followers “readers” and be “social” on Social Media is key to successful promoting your books.

.Reviews sell books. The more you have, the more credibility you will have with your potential buyers. Author-published books usually don’t attract reviews by major book magazines or newspapers such as The New York Times.

However, there are ways to get book reviews, especially if you are creative. Through social networks such as Twitter, Google+, Chime.in or Facebook, you can request book reviews. Here are some popular book reviewers on Twitter: MediaBistro and Scribd

Check the sidebar, links or blogroll on each site you visit, as they may have links to other reviewer’s blogs. You may check their ranking on Alexa which indicates their traffic – the lower the Alexa number, the better.

Don’t forget book networking sites such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Wattpad etc. Especially the many communities on these sites, often by book genre. This way you can meet and be known by book reviewers, before you even pitch your book to them.

Ask local newspapers and publications to review your book. While it is difficult to get a book review by a major publication or newspaper, your local newspaper might be interested in local authors.OK, you did your homework, a list of websites run by bloggers who might be writers or readers and who like the genre of our book. But how to approach them and request a review?

Writing a review is time consuming and requires reading the book first, so it is actually requesting a big favor from a complete stranger. The prospective reviewer has no incentive in investing time and effort in a review. The least a writer can do is to show the prospective reviewer respect:

Most sites publishing reviews have a procedure for receiving requests. Abide by the blogger’s requirements and show respect for the reviewers time.

Find a way to convert the book into the format, most convenient for the reviewer.

Send an email with a query first. You are competing with other books so be professional. Don’t be pushy as reviewers are doing you a favor reading your book.

Send customized requests to your prospective reviewers: A reviewer receiving a request that looks like mass mailing has no incentive to review your book.

You certainly have to offer a free copy of the book, reviewers will not fork out the money to buy your book and invest time in reading and reviewing it.

Not all books are for all people. The reviewers opinion is required and that includes the risk that the review will be scathing, if that is the reviewer’s opinion.

Be courteous, professional, thank them for their review and reciprocate the favor, making sure you credit the reviewer and provide them with publicity in return for their book review. Write more reviews and you will get more reviews for your books! So, when did you write your last book review?

Reviews, Tags, Highlights, “Listmania Listing”, “Like Button” all help to boost up books in Amazons popularity list. Take two books with identical sales numbers: the one which has been promoted with these features is much higher in the ranks and will definitely sell better in the future. But your friends can do more, just ask them:.Book Extras
Book Extras are community edited database which includes series information, character descriptions, important places, memorable quotes and more. The content is added, edited and maintained by both, Amazon customers and the Shelfari.com community. Shelfari is a community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Create a virtual bookshelf, discover new books, connect with friends and learn more about your favorite books – all for free.

Use Social Media
If you are involved with Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or Facebook, you can mention your favorite authors when they release new books. If they blog, you can follow their site (through Google Reader or other RSS readers) and share the link when they post something that may be interesting for others. On Twitter, you can “follow” and re-tweet their links now and then. If you like to be social about books, you can join sites such as Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing. You can help your favorite authors by posting reviews and talking about their books on those sites.

Promoting on Your BlogDo you ever talk about books or what you’re reading on your blog? You might consider reviewing your favorite authors on your site (you could even make a few dollars if you sign up as an Amazon affiliate). You can also add an “author blog roll” list in your menu with links to their sites.

Good old-fashioned word of mouth
Tell every one of your friends and family about your favorite author and his/her books, or mention it in your emails with a link to their site or to Amazon.

Help with “blurbs”
These days, most authors have websites and contact forms so you can get in touch. If you enjoyed their work, consider sending them a short note to let them know. It does not only make their day, but it can help them sell more books, if you allow them to use your words in their “praise” section.

A little promotional help now and then is greatly appreciated. And if you are a writer yourself, let your readers, friends and family know how they can support you on your book seller’s websites, copy and paste this list and send it to them or send them a link.

Dear Reader: This list of websites, which we compiled in March 2012, grew in the meantime to almost 100. Please visit our two new blog posts with even more possibilities to announce your work for free:

1. Goodreads
Use your free membership to promote yourself and your books. Reviews are essential and reviews on Goodreads site help your book to really stand out to millions of visitors.

2. Wattpad
Wattpad has experienced explosive growth since its inception and has become the world’s most popular destination to publish and read e-books. Wattpad delivers billions of pages from its library of works created and published by the Wattpad community.

3. On BookTalk,
You’ll find an online reading group and book discussion forum that can help you discover new books. If you are an author or publisher looking to promote your books, you are welcome to use BookTalk.org as a tool to reach a vast audience of book lovers. They have a Google Page Rank of 5, over 14,000 members and close to 700,000 site views per month. Book discussion forums are free and open to anyone including authors and publishers. Create a free account and write about your books in either the Fiction Book Forum or Non-Fiction Book Forum. Mail a few copies of your print book and it will be advertised. They will advertise your book on the Home page for 15 to 30 days and on the Featured Book Suggestions page permanently.”

4. And then, there is another Booktalk
Booktalk.com is an online booklovers’ community composed of many of today’s bestselling and popular authors. Personalized author home pages contain excerpts from bestselling novels as well as information about upcoming releases, author notes and personal hobbies and interests as well as publisher, literary agent and book industry information. Writing related articles by Booktalk authors and others in the writing community and upcoming literary events are also included.

5. KindleBoards
Authors are always welcome to post about their books in the Book Bazaar.

6. Library Thing
Social networking site and forum for book lovers. Free profile where each book contains tags, reviews and links to conversations about the book.

7. Shelfari
Enables you to build a virtual book shelf, that include book reviews from Amazon and to interact with your Shelfari community.

8. Authonomy
Features weekly top rated books, top talent spotters. You can join the forum, upload books and post reviews.

9. WritersNet
List yourself at this writers and authors directory, sorted by genre or location. Various resources for writers, agents and publishers.

17. Jacket Flap
For children books only. Directory of children books, publishers and professionals related to children book publishing. You can create your own profile to add your book and blog for free.

18. Scribd
Find out what others are reading on Scribd. This service is somewhat comparable with Wattpad. Authors upload their PDF, Word, and PowerPoint docs to share them with the world’s largest community of readers.

20. WhoWroteWhat
Authors can advertise free for thirty days. Submit a portrait photo (jpg), up to fifty words inviting readers to your website and your URL where your book(s) are for sale. After thirty days it is as low as 27 cents a day.

22. BookreportradioA lively mix of author interviews, audio book previews and chats with those influential in the literary world, The Book Report has become appointment listening for bibliophiles and book clubs alike.

23. Tim Greaton ForumTim Greaton is presenting the most talented authors & artists, living and working in our world today.

24. Figment
Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other people who love to read, and discover new stories and authors. (In a nutshell.) Figment was co-founded by Dana Goodyear, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and Jacob Lewis, the former Managing Editor at The New Yorker and Condé Nast Portfolio.

The Internet offers a cornucopia of free and effective promotion tools for writers. They can achieve these marketing goals through online activities in a fun way, as most writers already like to hang out in cyberspace and blog away.

Join Book Communities
As an author it is a MUST to be a member of these communities and a free (other than your time) way to introduce your book(s) and show your book titles. Join Goodreads, Wattpad, Scribd, BookMoch or Shelfari. More on my blog about book communities and for direct links. Post snippets (or chapters) of your book to excite potential readers at Wattpad – see my blog about Wattpad: 15 million readers before the book was even published.

Use your signature
Never send out an email without your author’s signature. You have probably heard this advice before, but: do you use the gains of e-mail signatures to market and promote your books?
Every day you send out emails to friends, business colleagues, your lawyer or accountant, potential clients, potential readers … If you have an email signature, you are constantly sending people “passive” marketing, spreading the word about you, your brand and your books. Create your email signature right now!

Involve social networks.
Show up on Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook and Linkedin (at least Google+ and one more of these). Click on “public” when posting on Google+ and your content will be immediately picked up by Google’s search engines. If you share interesting links (and your blog posts), and offer great free information, you will quickly become a favorite in these social networks. Your followers and connections on Social Media will later become your fan base, read and subscribe to your blog posts and newsletters and buy your books.

Comment on other blogs.
Take the time to find bloggers who write about topics similar to those you write about. When they have something good to say or you can add something to what they have written, leave a comment on their blog. Each time you do so, you leave behind a link to yourself, your website, or your blog. If people who read your comment find what you have written interesting, they will click on the link to find out more about you. They may then decide to become regular blog readers or subscribers, newsletter subscribers, or book buyers.

Start and maintain a blog yourself.
Blogs serve as the best tool for increasing online visibility as these are constantly updated and thus attractive for search engines. The more visible you, your book, your website, and your blog become, the more traffic (readers) your blog will attract. This means more buyers for your book now or when it is released. To create a successful blog, write about something you feel passionate about and do so often and consistently. That’s all it takes.

Contribute content to e-zine article directories.
Recycle parts of your blogged book manuscript or blog posts into short articles you can post in content farms or e-zine article directories, such as Ezinearticles.com, Amazines.com, Freezine-articles.com and many more. Often they have a resource box for a short bio and a link back to your website, book, blog, or subscription form. These articles are picked up by other bloggers, newsletter editors, e-zine editors, etc., and each time your resource box is featured. Readers click on your links to find out more about you, subscribe to your blog and newsletter or purchase your book. You can even use an e-zine article distribution services, such as http://www.submityourarticle.com, and get your articles distributed to hundreds of e-zine directories at once, making
it available to hundred thousands of new readers and possible book fans. Or you can really do it on a shoestring and create your own data bank of e- zines and submit your articles to them.
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Optimize your Amazon Page
What you can do to climb up to bestseller status:

– “autograph” Kindle books
– choose the best categories for your books and update them regularely
– add tags/keywords/subjects to your book listing for more exposure
– add lots of reviews, “About the Author” and additional information to your Amazon sales page
– get the most out of your Amazon Central account, create a brilliant authors page
– find out which part of your books your customers highlight the most on the Kindle and post it on your website or blog.
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No Money? No Problem!

Success in social media book marketing and with the tools described here, doesn’t require any financial investment. Depending on your level of involvement, it may demand a time commitment, at least in the beginning. Yet, as more you use these marketing tools, as faster you can handle them and as more visitors and buyers you will get.

For authors it is a MUST to be a member of these communities and a free (other than your time) way to introduce your book(s) and show your book titles.

BookTalk: Here you will find an online reading group and a book discussion forum that can help you discover new books (yours?).

They write: “If you’re an author or publisher looking to promote your books we welcome you to use BookTalk.org as a tool to reach a vast audience of book lovers. We have a Google Page Rank of 5, over 14,000 members and close to 700,000 site views per month.

Our book discussion forums are free and open to anyone including authors and publishers. Create a free account and tell us about your books in either the Fiction Book Forum or Non-Fiction Book Forum.

Mail a few copies of your print book and it will be advertised. We will advertise your book on our Home page for 15 to 30 days and on our Featured Book Suggestions page permanently. Mail your books to the below address. Once we receive them you will see your books advertised within a few days. You don’t have to email us to ask if we want you to mail a few copies. Just ship them and wait for your ad to appear. The system works flawlessly and is easy for both of us.”

However, there are way more book communities:

Wattpad: Join the Wattpad community to read, vote and chat with readers and writers for free. If you are a writer but have not yet published a book, you may want to check out the writing section of your profile where you can post your writing for others to read and review.

Goodreads: The Goodreads Author Program is a completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors to promote their books. Use Goodreads also to get book recommendations for your own reading, keep track of what you’re reading, and socialize over books.

Scribd: Find out what others are reading on Scribd. BookMooch: Exchange books with other members. Shelfari: Build a virtual bookshelf, see what others are reading, and discover new books. Reader2: You can find new books to read and put your reading list online with Reader2. aNobii: You can create and find book lists within this reading community. Listal: Here you can list, rate, and discover books and lots of other media. WhatsOnMyBookshelf?: This site offers readers a way to trade books with a simple point system. Revish: Read, review and share books with other Revish members. KindleBoards: Authors are always welcome to post about their books in the Book Bazaar.

Book Communities are a great way to kick-start your online self promotion, and get involved with a community of like-minded individuals at the same time. However don’t join to only promote your book, but to discover what other authors write and recommend them. Give & Take!